


Fading Away

by YourAverageAspiringAuthor



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Angst, But then the angst train slammed into my house and stole my lunch money, Can't really say this is fluff, Could be read as Thirteen/Dhawan, Don't really have to squint, Its heavily implied, Was gonna be fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23130457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourAverageAspiringAuthor/pseuds/YourAverageAspiringAuthor
Summary: O was perfectly crafted for the Doctor.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	Fading Away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThoughtsCascade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThoughtsCascade/gifts).



> Written for my lovely friend <3

“I could take you to see the stars one day.” The Doctor hummed as she looked up at constellations made from stars long dead, head resting against grass freshly mowed alongside her new friend. The blades of grass tickled her neck, blonde hair sprawled out on the ground around her head like a halo. Around them, crickets chirped and owls hooted, sounds lost to all but them in the middle of a field in Australia.    


Beside her, O chuckled. His brown eyes were staring up at the sky with falsified curiosity. The Master had already seen the stars visible from their vantage point, had already stepped foot on them at least once, but O hadn’t. O hadn’t left Earth. O had a sort of childlike wonder about him, because he didn’t  _ know _ what most of the stars in the sky were called. O didn’t think about stars being dead. O didn’t think about things like that. O tried to be positive, no matter the situation. O was perfectly crafted for the Doctor. 

The Doctor wasn’t aware of just how carefully crafted O’s entire personality had been. The Doctor wasn’t aware that the man she spoke to about inconsequential things over cups of tea wasn’t the man she thought he was. The Doctor didn’t need to know. He could continue this masquerade and she’d never know, if he was careful. He could continue seeing her smile, could live the rest of his lives being called O and wouldn’t care. All that mattered was that, in this moment, she didn’t hate him.

“But, Doctor, I’m looking at the stars right now.” O gently teased her, the corners of his mouth turning into a smile, his eyes wrinkling as he did. In return, O received a laugh. The Doctor pushed him, and O rolled onto his side to look at her, resting on his elbow.

“You know what I meant, O. Proper stars. You could travel with me, you know. Wouldn’t kill you.” She had been asking that same question for a while, always became saddened when he declined her. The Master had spent hours stopping himself from saying yes, knew that if he said yes it would only lead to more hurt later on. O wanted to say yes.

O shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m good with my feet on the ground, Doctor. Plenty for me to do here. Wouldn’t do for me to go out and get myself hurt, now would it?” O tried to joke, tried to cheer her up. O didn’t like seeing the Doctor sad, nor did the Master. Both had spent a very long time trying to keep her happy, but she always asked, and he always had to decline. His hearts ached. 

“Not even a short trip?” She tried, looking over at him with furrowed brows, trying her best not to frown. It was the same routine. She asked, he declined, she tried again, and he was forced to decline once again. This happened at least twice every time they spoke. It was _exhausting,_ saying no to her. She made it oh so difficult, but the Master was a stronger man than he was pretending to be.

He shook his head again, biting back a sigh. “I’m sorry, Doctor. I can’t. I’d love to, really, but I’ve got a good life going for me on Earth. If I went for a ‘short trip.’ I’d want to go on another, and another, and another. It just- I can’t.” Tried his best to speak softly. The Master would have compared it to speaking to a child, but O was not the Master.

Oh, how he wished he could be. He wished the words the Doctor spoke were for him, that she was smiling because of _him_ , not some persona made to perfectly replicate the best parts of the Doctor’s companions. The most desirable parts. O was naive. O was ready to sacrifice himself for her at any moment, not that he’d had the chance yet. O believed she would keep him safe. O believed in the Doctor. The Master knew why that was a bad idea. 

The Doctor turned her focus back to the stars, face glowing in the moonlight. O’s heart ached to hold her, to show her that he oh so _desperately_ wanted to travel with her. O wanted to make her happy, but he couldn’t. O needed to keep his distance emotionally. Eventually, he wouldn’t exist. Eventually, O would be replaced with the Master, and the Doctor wouldn’t want anything to do with him. 

“Right, well, if you do decide that you’d like to go for a spin, you know who to call. And, no, I don’t mean Ghostbusters. Have you ever seen Ghostbusters, O? Right good movie. Musical was a mistake, but the movie was good.” She was hiding again, the Master could see it. She was pretending to be cheery, and it hurt so bad, listening to her spill out random thoughts to distract herself from significantly worse ones. An attempt to move the conversation along. 

O took the bait, rolling his eyes as he fell back into the grass to look up at the sky. “I’ve not seen Ghostbusters, no. Missed out on it. Maybe you could watch it with me some time? I’ll buy it online and we’ll watch it together.” A promise. They’d see each other again. The Master just hoped it would be easier to look her in the eyes next time.

She nodded, eyes slowly shutting. “Maybe.” The Doctor hummed, leaving her eyes shut for a moment before they slowly opened. Then, she picked herself up from the ground. “I best be going, O. Lots of repairs to make. You know how it is.” A note of sadness in her tone. Her shoulders sagged, eyes a tad less bright than they had been when she’d shown up.   


O nodded, pushing himself up and brushing bits of grass from his jeans. “I do, yeah. See you around some time, then?” He hated seeing her go. Needed her to. His facade was wearing away. 

“I’ll text you.” The Doctor smiled at him, biting her lip for a moment as though there were something else she wanted to say. The Master knew what it was, that same question. “We’ll see each other soon, don’t worry. You’re not getting away from me.”   


O stuck his tongue out at her. Watched her step into her TARDIS. He heard the wheezing of the engine, watched the TARDIS fade away.   


The Master’s shoulders slumped.   



End file.
